Alwaght-According to Telegraph, Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, will arrive in Britain amid a growing furore over his country’s alleged links to the financing of the ISIS terrorist group.
David Cameron is under intense pressure to hold face-to-face talks with the Emir of Qatar this week to demand that the Persian Gulf state cuts off the flow of funding to terrorists.
The negotiations follow warnings from the America administration last week that Qatar and Kuwait remain fertile grounds for terrorist funders. David Cohen, the America official in charge of terrorism and financial intelligence, said the two states were "permissive jurisdictions for terrorist financing".
Stephen Barclay, the Tory MP for North-East Cambridgeshire, who has repeatedly called for transparency in Britain’s dealings with Qatar and other Gulf states, said it was "essential" for Cameron to raise the issue of terror financing with the Emir.
"I welcome the fact that the Prime Minister is meeting with the Emir," he said. "As part of these discussions it is essential that the issue of financing Sunni tribes in Syria and Iraq is raised".
"I hope the Prime Minister will then give further details to Parliament. It remains unclear whether money is still flowing from Qatari nationals".
"There is clear evidence that Qatari nationals have been instrumental in the financing of Sunni terror groups and the Prime Minister should not avoid tackling this issue head on with the Emir."
Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the former Tory foreign secretary, said the meeting is a "perfect opportunity" to tell the Qataris they could no longer "run with the hare and hunt with the hounds".
Douglas Alexander, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary, said wealthy Qataris and Kuwaitis had channelled millions of dollars to ISIS terrorist group.
Telegraph reported that several apparently well-connected Qataris have raised millions of pounds for ISIS terrorist group, al-Qaeda and other affiliated groups in Syria and Iraq. MPs accuse the Government, which has extensive trade links with Qatar, of being too close to the Persian Gulf state.
Qatar owns or co-owns several landmark sites including Harrods and the Shard skyscraper while buying large stakes in major companies.
One prominent Qatari was identified by the America as a global terrorist in December last year but it took Britain 10 months to do the same in a case highlighted by The Sunday Telegraph.
Alexander, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary, says the capital cities of Saudi, Qatar and Kuwait "have been used as a base by wealthy individuals and religious foundations to channel millions of dollars to terrorists fighting Assad in Syria, either with the tacit approval of the regimes, or taking advantage of weak money-laundering protections within those states."
Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the former foreign secretary and currently chairman of parliament’s intelligence and security committee, said of the Emir’s visit: "The whole point of such visits is to discuss and try to improve bilateral relations. What better subject could there be, if there is serious concern that people in Qatar have been deliberately or unintentionally helping those trying to use acts of terrorism to achieve their objectives.
The whole point of a visit like this is not just to say friendly things to each other but to address real issues."
It is noteworthy that although this report does not discuss America and Britain roles in formation the extremist movements in the west Asia, they have been instrumental in funding, arming, and training of terrorists to achieve their goals. Indeed, Britain not only has been involved in shaping al-Qaida and its offshoots, e.g. ISIS terrorist group, but also Britain is the founder of Wahhabism and al-Saud that is main supporter of extremism around the world.
